I BELIEVE WE HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Our failure to comprehend the gospel has resulted in Christianity in all of its many forms.

After more than thirty years’ participation in this religion I am done with it.

The religion of Christianity has motivated literally millions of people to see themselves as the interpreters of God’s will, not only for themselves, but also for all the rest of humanity.

Christians believe that because of their choice to believe in Christ they have become righteous in the sight of God. They are also convinced that other people who do not believe are not only unrighteous from God’s point of view, but are actually condemned to eternal damnation in hell.

I believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the real good news for all human beings. Oneness with God was accomplished for us all by God through Christ. This was done without our will, belief, acceptance, or anything else we can do, say, or understand.

The doctrines of Christian faith inadvertently promote self righteousness.

Genuine salvation of our soul comes when we begin to understand and accept the freedom we have been granted. The truth is that every single requirement for eternal life for everyone was absolutely fulfilled for us by Jesus Christ.

We have no obligation from God to do anything at all. We are not required to believe anything. We are not commanded to obey even one single law.

Jesus fulfilled everything for us. It is a finished fact.

To lay requirements of performance, or faith, or belief, or any other threshold of accomplishment in order to secure any degree of right standing with God is a denial of grace.

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ satisfied God’s will for mankind.

The greatest thing you can do to honor the gift of grace is to accept yourself as perfect and holy.

The next greatest thing you can do is see everyone else as perfect and holy as yourself.

The gospel is not a “have to” … it is a “get to!”

The reason Christians are perfect in the eyes of God is because human beings are perfect in the eyes of God.

Sin is what the Lamb of God took out of this world.

I love and embrace our wondrous liberty we have in Christ. It is with a joyous passion that I have turned away from the Christian religion and its smothering practices.

IT WAS A THOUGHT THAT JUST FILLED MY MIND. The utter starkness of the truth was so completely remarkable to me. It was as simple as this… we are so completely free! That’s it. Freedom.

One may ask, freedom from what? Or another may ask, what do you mean “freedom”? And another may add, “so you think you are free to do whatever you want?”

Well, the focus of that moment’s clarity had to do with the fact that the cross of Christ has completely freed us from the law. Not that I personally was ever “under” the Jewish law, but that we, as in all humanity, have no law, regulation, demand, or command from God at all, but instead, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “…for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

Now, I am very sensitive to the reality that there will always be those religious souls whose legalistic point of view compels them to grab some verses from the Bible here and there and put commands and demands upon us. However, that is their problem and no longer mine. That is what freedom will do for you.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

THIS MAY BE A DIFFERENT THOUGHT, but perhaps it’s worth some consideration. Here it is as a personal declaration… “I am through working on the development of my faith!”

That’s right. I am done building up my faith. I am done pursuing God. In fact, I have repented of the very idea that in order to be all that God wants me to be, I must do all these spiritual things to become something I am not.

The result is this… a growing confidence in the reality that I am already perfect.

Yeah… that is exactly what I said… perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect!

O, give me a break, Abraham! You? I know you and you are far from perfect… you’re a kook!

Yes, well, I know me too and I agree with you far more than you could possibly know…the kook part and all. However, that is not what I am talking about. I know I have a zillion or so faults and cracks and lacks. That is the human part of me.

But I have come to the place of understanding that the One who is “the author and finisher of our faith” has imputed to us his perfection. That is spiritual. And that is complete. It is a finished work that, not only can I NOT improve upon, but my effort to do so would nullify the very grace of God that imputes his righteousness to me in the first place.

No wonder Paul wrote, “we speak wisdom among them that are perfect…” and that it is from this vantage point “that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”

I cannot begin to tell you how this revelation has simplified my life. I am liberated! And this liberty is so very delicious. And as far as me and my endeavors to improve in life as a human being… oh yeah, that is a daily deal… however, all that is built on the knowledge that everything between Father God and I is forever settled. I am completely “accepted in the beloved!”

What about my faith?  I could care less about my faith.  “…the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

SOMEONE MAY ASK, “IS HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN?” In order to answer the question, it is important to first consider what is the gospel? When Jesus went to the cross as the redeemer of mankind, did he succeed or did he fail? The gospel, according to Paul, declares to us that Jesus indeed succeeded. He accomplished exactly what John the Baptist said he would. “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” Also the prophet Isaiah foretold of Jesus giving himself as the sacrifice for sin. He said, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied…” Isa 53:10-11 Note the prophet’s word concerning God’s view of Christ when he would “make his soul an offering for sin…”, God would then be “satisfied…”

In other words, in God’s view and opinion, the gospel is the good news that Christ has, once and for all, settled the “sin” issue between God and man. And if, in fact, the cross of Christ settled the sin issue from God’s point of view, then we have no authoritative basis to judge the actions or attitudes of human beings as “sinful” before God.

To describe this from another aspect, consider Paul’s further teaching on the subject in the second chapter of his letter to the Colossians. He says, “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross…” Col 2:13-14

In those statements Paul gives us a revelation that he received from Jesus. (See Galatians 1:11-12) The Apostle is telling us that the law, which is the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, was taken “out of the way…” Indeed, the law was nailed to the cross with Christ. And it is the law that condemns sin. Jesus himself told us, “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.” John 5:45 Paul further reminds us in Romans 5:13, “…sin is not imputed when there is no law.” And again Paul tells us 2 chapters later, “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” Romans 7:7

Bottom line… in God’s view and opinion, sin was “taken out of the world” at the cross of his own dear son. The gospel is the awesome news that we are free!!! And not only are we free, but the very mystery of the ages is that Christ is actually in us and the life we live in the flesh we live by the faith of the son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

So instead of trying to view life through the perspective of judging good and evil (sin or not sin) let us live in the liberty of the glorious grace of God. We need not carry the burden of judging the lives and actions of others. Walk in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and trust the reality that “…the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world…” is going to work God’s life in and through the rest of humanity.

RECENTLY I READ A BLOG POST ENTITLED “THE WAR IS OVER”. It was written by a fellow named Jeromy Johnson. I understood it immediately. The cross of Christ ended “the state of war” that had existed between God and man since the garden. The gospel is the declaration of “the state of peace” from God’s point of view for all of mankind.

The problem has been that, like the Japanese soldier described in Jeromy’s post, most of us have not understood the real message of the gospel. We think God is still angry with us humans and that unless we “get right with God”, we are still in “His cross hairs” headed for eternal damnation.

I forwarded the link to some friends with whom I am engaged in an ongoing debate. One of them said to me, “O, I read the article you sent me, The War Is Over! Really good. Hey, what else is new and blah, blah, blah…” I thought as I listened to him, “well, you read the article, perhaps, but what was it you understood?” And I wanted to say, “Ok, so why are you still preaching and teaching that there is still a battle to fight and a war to be won? Come out of the religious jungle you’ve been hiding in and rejoice!”

The reality is, however, that my friend is just like me. It was not that long ago that I would have missed the point too. I could have read the very same article and failed entirely to comprehend the true meaning of “the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free…!”

So what makes me so different now? The quick answer is “my complete disillusionment with the church scene!” That initial disillusionment allowed me, for the first time since my initial conversion in 1974, to step back and question my entire belief system. From those first “shake up everything you’ve assumed true” days until now… my liberation has come in a sort of “domino-effect” fashion. That is what happens when one sacred cow after another goes belly up. (That might be a mixed metaphor, but who cares.)

More later… thanks for reading.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT from a television interview of Billy Graham by Robert Schuller, on May 31, 1997:

Dr. Schuller begins by speaking to Billy Graham:

Dr. Schuller: “Tell me, what is the future of Christianity?”

Dr. Graham: “Well, Christianity and being a true believer, you know, I think there’s the body of Christ which comes from all the Christian groups around the world, or outside the Christian groups. I think that everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time.”

“What God is doing today is calling people out of the world for His name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light they have and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.”

Dr. Schuller: “What I hear you saying is that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into a human heart and soul and life even if they’ve been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you’re saying?”

Dr. Graham: “Yes it is because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, have never heard of Jesus but they’ve believed in their hearts that there is a God and they tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.”

Dr. Schuller: “This is fantastic. I’m so thrilled to hear you say that. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy.

Dr. Graham: “There is. There definitely is.”

It appears to me that both Dr. Graham and Dr. Schuller are much closer to understanding the Gospel of Grace and Peace than most of their evangelical counterparts.

ONE LONGTIME ACQUAINTANCE OF MINE was recently quoted in a news article about the noted atheist, Michael Newdow, and his campaign to stop President-Elect Barak Obama from mentioning God in his Inauguration Speech. Mr. Newdow also wants the two clergymen (Revs. Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery) and their prayers to be taken out of the ceremony. This is a portion of that news article…

Randy Thomasson of SaveCalifornia.com suggests that Newdow find other venues to spread his hatred of God. “Newdow obviously believes in God so much that he hates God,” says the Christian activist. “He really needs to find a different racket and stop wrecking America’s heritage.” (http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=370220)

So, I was wondering, do you really think Mr. Newdow and the like can “wreck America’s heritage?” I do not. In fact, I think America’s heritage is really expressed in the concept of freedom, rather than whether or not we mention Jesus in a ceremonial invocation or not. Our history may have plenty of religion and religious expression it in, but I do not believe God is FOR US or AGAINST US over these matters. And to go one step further… I believe God is just plain FOR US, PERIOD!!!

The battle, as I see it, is not between the believers and the atheists, or the muslims, or any other flesh and blood group that holds to differing views of God. The battle is within us… are we going to recognize and walk in the “liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free…?” Are we going to continue hold ourselves and one another to a view of God who, as if the cross of Jesus never happened, is supposedly ready to send anyone to eternal damnation who does not meet our evangelical Christian requirements for faith?

I feel very “liberated” by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his finished work at Calvary. My days of hand wringing over whether or not we print “in God we trust” on the currency or post the 10 Commandments in public places, are done. I am settled in the reality that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished so very much more on the cross than we have ever given him credit for… such as the redemption of all humanity, one and for all!

What both Mr. Newdow and Mr. Thomasson need to realize is JESUS IS LORD OF ALL (believers, atheists, agnostics, drunkards, gays, etc.) and they are RIGHTEOUS and HOLY whether they believe it or not. After all, “…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”

THERE IS THIS ONLINE NEWS ORGANIZATION whose URL is: www.onenewsnow.com on the internet. Today they posted a question for poll they are taking. The question was… “Would you advise Rev. Rick Warren to avoid mentioning the name of Jesus during his inaugural invocation?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Unsure

I voted NOT to advise Rick Warren to avoid using Jesus name.

However, it is not because using the Lord’s name is somehow better than not using his name. I would want Rev. Warren to simply be free in his heart to pray a prayer of thanksgiving for the awesome life God has provided for all humanity through Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection!

The evangelical community, having misunderstood the entire concept of “praying in Jesus’ name”, thinks that God is moved to provide, or withhold, good things depending on how we formulate words to communicate with him. What kind of a heavenly Father would that be? Sounds quite capricious and self centered to me. No, I believe that is simply a religious concept repeated so many times, it seems like truth.

On the other hand, the Apostle Paul wrote “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) He said, “…freely give us all things!” He did NOT say, if you manage to pray the prayer correctly, I will give you all things.

Furthermore, he has already given us all things we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). So, really… what is it we need that he has not already completely supplied? Let our prayer be simply one of thanksgiving for all that God has already done for humanity through the completed work of his dear son, Jesus.

I REMEMBER THE MOMENT QUITE CLEARLY. It was April 2007. We were standing during the morning worship service. We were standing and singing during the first of two morning services at a church we had never been to before. The church band was playing some snappy song and the pastor was sort of leading us all with the words projected on the wall at the back of the stage. The words, of course, were appropriately mingled with beautiful scenes that served to convey some essence in the meaning of the lyrics.

Suddenly it struck me. This is modern evangelical America. This is it. This is how church is done today. And it is the same, with certain variations to be sure, wherever you go. We visited several different churches in a six month period searching for the right place for us. Each one was just like the other. Even most of the songs were the same. Now, that in itself is neither bad nor condemning. I could say the same for Starbucks. In fact, I consider that element of predictability a value that I appreciate when considering where to go for coffee. So I am not attacking or criticizing the “sameness” of the churches. What struck me was something deeper.

When visiting Starbucks I am in search of some very definite and specific things… great coffee, some tasty goodies to go with the coffee, good background music, and a nice place to sit and chat with Mary. And, oh yes… maybe see a friend or two and share a moment with them. I can count on all or most of these things no matter which of the six or seven Starbucks we may visit. I love it.

Church, however, is not Starbucks. Church, as I understand it, is the body of Christ meeting together to celebrate the Lord and experience the togetherness of our common bond as believers. Whatever the truth of the Gospel of Christ is, the gathering of the church is to be where you are going to experience that truth with some degree of intensity because you are gathered together. So if the Gospel is salvation and freedom and joy and peace, the gathering together of the church would be a time when all these elements are experienced in richness. Right?

However, as William Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” If the modern day evangelical church is, in fact, the body of Christ, and as such, most clearly and truly shows God’s love to the world, why is it so completely fragmented, segmented, and defined by its schisms more than its love and acceptance? Is it not at least good stewardship to consider that there might be something inherently wrong foundationally with the modern day evangelical church? Is there even the possibility that some basic assumption carried forth by the evangelical mindset has created a primary misconception that has skewed the message? Could we even rationally entertain such an idea? I say that we must!

I believe that a very foundational premise in the church world is fouled. I am speaking about the gospel, the message of good news given to believers for the world. Just as the heavenly host trumpeted to the shepherds, the message was to be “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” However, something has been twisted in the way we have interpreted just what the good tidings are and how the truth of the message is processed into real life. That “twist” is the something “rotten”, not in Denmark, but in modern day evangelical Christianity.

I will attempt to put it in as great a degree of simplicity as I am able to in my own words…

Most of the church world would agree that Jesus’ death on the cross was for the entire world… meaning “all humanity, past, present, and future.” However, from this point is where things get confused. The evangelical belief is that the redemption secured on the cross is but an “offer” from the Almighty. The offer can be accepted or rejected on a completely individual basis. In other words, the divine offer of eternal redemption must be rationally agreed upon by individual human beings and then, and ONLY then, is the power of that redemption ignited within that individual human soul. Any individual who does NOT accept the divine offer, remains void of redemption and is thus a candidate for eternal damnation in fire of hell.

Now, there may be subtle variations on this theme depending on which quarter of Christendom is declaring its particular view, but the basic is relatively the same. Believe and you are in. No belief and you are out. If you remain out and die, all hope for you is gone and you burn in everlasting hell.

So, in the evangelical view of the world, humanity is divided up into two basic groups of people… those who are IN (aka: the saved, the believers, the Christians, the redeemed, the church… this list goes on) and those who are OUT (aka: the unbelievers, the lost, the heathen, the unsaved, unredeemed… and this list goes on and on also).

I, personally, do not like the evangelical version of “gospel”. I think it is, at least in part, the elemental error in the church world. I do not believe their gospel any longer. In fact, I do believe it is quite applicable to quote Paul when he called it “…another gospel: which is not another…” (Galatians 1:6-7) I simply do not believe this is “good news”, and therefore, not the Gospel of Christ.

I believe the good news is that Jesus Christ died on the cross and secured eternal redemption for every human being, past , present, and future whether they believe it or not. That is GOOD NEWS!!! My ability to believe is NOT the criteria God used to determine my eternal destiny. That criteria was the blood that The Redeemer shed for us all.

Now, I am aware this idea brings up many, many wonderful and valid questions that do need to be addressed with specific and sound answers.

Truth has and will continue to endure any and all scrutiny. So, dear reader… formulate your question or your criticism and comment here. As Isaiah wrote so long ago… “Come, let us reason together…!”

THIS EVENING DURING THE GOSPEL REVOLUTION WEBCAST, I heard Mike Williams make reference to a wonderfully simple yet amazingly profound idea. He noted that the Christmas songs we have heard and sung over so many years have more of the true Gospel message in them than most of what you hear coming from Christian pulpits across the land. That little statement by Mike sparked a clarifying thought in my mind about the Gospel.  Now I will leave it up to you to decide about the Christmas songs, but I wanted to go back and look at the Bible passage that inspired many of those hymns.

Just think of the precious words from the book of Luke…

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:8-14

What did the angel say to the lowly shepherds? “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” This heralding of Christ’s birth was a message for ALL PEOPLE… not all believers! It was not given as tidings of exclusivity, but rather an inclusive, all encompassing declaration of God’s will and heart for mankind, all mankind.

Now, the great majority of evangelical Christian thinkers want to draw the line with a requirement to believe. This thinking, of course, reduces the good news of the Gospel of Christ to that of a divine offer to mankind. So then the story goes, if a person accepts God’s offer, the heavenly power is immediately released to that individual who has chosen to believe and presto… they are suddenly translated from the power of darkness to the kingdom of light. In other words, they have now become a Christian and have been, in a moment’s time, qualified to spend eternity with God in heaven.

Probably the greatest single reason for such a viewpoint is because of what I believe to be an incomplete or slanted interpretation of primarily the book of John. This book of the Bible contains more admonitions to believe in Jesus than any other single New Testament document. However, even though all these requirements to believe were spoken by Christ, how many people actually believed until the end? The simple answer is none.

So when the Lord Jesus was on the cross dying for the “sin of the world,” all of his followers had either fled in fear or where standing by in despair. No one was a believer, even those who loved him so dearly and had given up everything to follow him. When Jesus was raised from the dead, where was the group of steadfast believers awaiting him with garlands of victory? They were scattered, dumbfounded, confused, and full of doubt and unbelief. The two disciples Christ encountered on the road to Emmaus where in deep inner turmoil over the death of Jesus. When he asked them what they were so troubled about, they responded by saying, “…we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel…” They were not rejoicing over what Jesus had just succeeded in accomplishing, they were trying to come to grips with the idea that he had failed!

After months of listening to Mike Williams and searching back through the Bible myself, I am convinced that the viewpoint I held for years as an evangelical Christian is not the Gospel of Christ. Instead, I see that the Gospel is NOT about A DIVINE OFFER! On the contrary, the Gospel is about God’s plan to redeem his entire creation without the consent or participation of the will of man. That’s why the angels could shout “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Having proven that righteousness could not be attained by keeping the law or by believing, Jesus fulfilled all the law and the prophets through his death, burial, and resurrection from the dead. He single-handedly “took away the sin of the world” and “to the praise of the glory of his grace…”  “he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace…” (Ephesians chapter one)

The result of what God did in and through Christ on the cross fulfilled the declaration of the heavenly host…”peace on earth and good will toward mankind.” Peace has been completely established between God and man! God is no longer angry with man because Jesus, the one who is peace, “…abolished in his flesh the enmity (between God and man), even the law of commandments contained in ordinances… so making peace.” (Ephesians chapter two)

Am I saying that believing has no value since Christ has already redeemed all mankind? No. Believing the Gospel releases the very power of God unto salvation. And salvation, not to be confused with redemption, is the very transforming renewal of our minds. The salvation of our soul is not an escape from a promised destiny of eternal damnation. That matter was settled by Jesus on the cross. The salvation of our soul is the daily learning to abide and rest in what Christ has provided. Thus we live and move and have our being in him. Now, that is Good News!!!